Gunmen Raid Rally, Seize Son Of Ex-PM

Pakistan's election Saturday, if successful, would mark the first time since the country's establishment that a civilian government is succeeded by another elected administration. John Bussey joins the News Hub as the kidnapping of one of the candidates threatens further conflict. Photo: Associated Press.

By

Yaroslav Trofimov

Updated May 10, 2013 12:19 a.m. ET

LAHORE, Pakistan—Gunmen on Thursday kidnapped candidate Ali Haider Gilani—the son of a recent Pakistani prime minister—as he campaigned for Saturday's election, in the latest attack to mar a vote that is shaping up to be the bloodiest in the country's history.

No one claimed immediate responsibility for the attack, which left one person dead when gunmen seized Mr. Gilani in the city of Multan in southern Punjab, where he was at a rally to support his provincial legislature bid.

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Ali Haider Gilani on Thursday in Multan, before his abduction.
REUTERS

The Pakistani Taliban have repeatedly said they would target politicians from the three secular-leaning parties of the outgoing government coalition. Such attacks over the past month have left more than 100 people dead.

Mr. Gilani is the son of Yousuf Raza Gilani, who served as prime minister in the Pakistan Peoples Party government of President Asif Ali Zardari.

Gunmen on a motorcycle attacked the younger Mr. Gilani and gunned down his secretary before escaping with their captive, said Malik Deharr, a prominent PPP official in Multan who served in the outgoing Punjab provincial legislature.

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Supporters gathered Thursday at the site of Mr. Gilani's abduction.
AFP/Getty Images

"We are all very sad and sorry," said Mr. Deharr. "We demand from security forces to take action and make an urgent response."

Pakistani TV stations reported from Multan that the kidnapped politician appeared to have been injured during the attack. The secretary was killed, officials said.

Officials from the PPP and its two secular coalition partners have repeatedly complained that the neutral caretaker government, which took over from the PPP-led administration to oversee the elections, hasn't provided them with enough security, constraining the party's campaigning to the benefit of its rivals.

"It's not a fair game. The level playing field is not there," said Lahore-based political analyst Salman Abid.

Players to Watch in Pakistan

The Taliban haven't targeted the campaigns of the party widely predicted to emerge with the largest number of votes in Saturday's election, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, or PML-N. The insurgents also have spared the rallies of former cricket star Imran Khan, whose party may overtake the PPP as the nation's second-largest political force on Saturday, according to analysts and diplomats.

Messrs. Sharif and Khan, in return, have refrained from criticizing the Taliban and have pledged to open peace negotiations with the militants. Thursday was the last day of campaigning, and Messrs. Sharif and Khan both called massive final rallies. Mr. Khan addressed his supporters via video-link after falling down and injuring his back earlier this week.

Related

Pakistanis go the polls Saturday in an election that will mark the first civilian transfer of power. The WSJ's Yaroslav Trofimov tells us whether there's an end in sight to the country's tumultuous past.

The two brothers of the kidnapped candidate—themselves running for office—told Pakistani TV channels Thursday that the PPP wouldn't allow elections to be held in Multan if Ali Haider isn't recovered. But the party later said the election will proceed as planned.

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Taliban violence has stymied PPP's campaign. The party's chairman—24-year-old Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who is the son of President Zardari and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated in 2007—was supposed to spearhead its re-election bid. But he has largely stayed away from public view and is waiting out the election abroad.

Saturday's vote, if successful, would mark the first time since Pakistan's establishment in 1947 that a civilian government is succeeded by another elected administration.

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